Narrable reminds me in many ways of VoiceThread, but it only allows one audio recording per image. I love how Narrable provides three options for recording audio to accompany an image: either by phone call (Narrable calls your phone after you enter your number), you can upload an audio file, or you can record audio using your web browser.

I recorded the audio for the four images in my initial Narrable using my cell phone.

Unlike VoiceThread, which just gives users 5 minutes of free cell phone-based audio recording, Narrable doesn’t limit free phone-based audio recording minutes. When you sign up for a free Narrable account, you get to create 5 free Narrables. A premium plan is available for $5 per month, which allows you to create an unlimited number of Narrables. Each time you share a Narrable you create on Facebook, however, you ‘earn’ a bonus Narrable. So, as long as you’re willing to publicly share your Narrables on Facebook, you can apparently create an unlimited number of digital stories with a free account.

There is currently not a mobile app for Narrable, but I definitely like the way it allows users (potentially including students) to use cell phones as voice recorders for digital stories. I’m hoping to interview Dustin Curzon, one of the co-founders of Narrable, soon over Skype for a podcast. The past few years we’ve seen a number of excellent phone-based web 2.0 platforms come and go, including Gabcast and Cinch.fm. I hope Narrable will succeed and grow as a digital storytelling platform supporting cell phone audio recording!